Firearms are widely used by militaries, law enforcement agencies, and even private citizens around the world. The purpose of firearms ranges from eliminating hostile threats with vicious efficiency to upholding law and order, and even putting food on the table for some. Recoil is constant concern when discharging a firearm that is governed by the simple law of physics that every action causes an equal and opposite reaction. In the case of recoil, the action of the bullet being propelled forwards at extreme velocities causes the equal and opposite reaction of the firearm recoiling backwards in the direction opposite the bullet was fired in. The forces associated with recoil can create a number of problems when a shooter is trying to maintain accuracy when firing their weapon. While the accuracy of the first shot is largely unaffected by the recoil of the firearm, the accuracy of all subsequent shots is drastically affected, especially with fully automatic firearms. If the shooter wishes to maintain accuracy, they must contend with the recoil of their firearm, and take the time to regain their sight picture as well as firing in shorter more controlled bursts of fire. Overcoming recoil has been a problem since the introduction of rapid firing semi automatic and fully automatic firearms and as such, many solutions to the problem have historically been developed and used. One of the most common solutions to the problem of high recoil is called a recoil compensator or muzzle brake. Muzzle brakes and recoil compensators redirect the force of the hot gas and unburned powder being expelled from the barrel of the firearm to counter the recoil of the firearm. There are two components to recoil which are generated by the discharge of the firearm; the barrel is pushed linearly backwards, and the barrel raises as a result of the reactions forces where the shooter is holding the firearm. Barrel rise is extremely prominent in pistols as the recoil force causes a reaction force where the shooter is holding the firearm; the reaction force in pistols is vertically offset from the backwards recoil force and thus a movement is generated, causing the pistol's barrel to rise significantly. Recoil compensators aim to counter this effect by vectoring portions of the hot gas and unburned powder upwards when the firearm is discharged. The forces generated by the hot gas and unburned powder expelled upwards causes a movement which is counter rotational to that caused by the recoil. Thus a portion of the movement caused by the recoil is cancelled out, thereby allowing the shooter to more quickly regain the original sight picture, or acquire a new one. The positive effect of recoil compensators using this configuration is accompanied by the unfortunate effect of directing the bright flash of the discharging gas and powder into the sight path of the shooter. This is extremely unfortunate when the shooter is in lowlight conditions as the bright flash of light directed into the sight picture can cause night blindness and loss of the sight picture entirely. This adverse effect can even be life threatening to a soldier or law enforcement agent who is relying upon a clear line of sight to the target resolve deadly situations.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a recoil compensator which serves to reduce barrel rise caused by recoil while simultaneously preventing the flash of the firearm from completely obscuring the sight picture. This combination provides the shooter with maximum efficiency of both maintaining their sight picture, and keeping the firearm on target. Additionally, it is an object of the present invention to be easily installed on a firearm without the need for significant modification of said firearm. The present invention is also compatible with combat holsters when equipped on the firearm.